London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Battersea 1908
Report on the health of the Metropolitan Borough of Battersea for the year 1908
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| Age Periods—Years. | Boro'. | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under | 1-2 | 2-3 | 3-4 | 4-5 | 5-10 | 10-15 | 15-25 | 25-65 | 65— | ||
| No. of Cases | 7 | 19 | 26 | 38 | 34 | 134 | 53 | 14 | 14 | 1 | 340 |
| No. of Deaths | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | .. | .. | .. | 22 |
| Case Mortality per cent. | 28.5 | 21.0 | 19.2 | 10.5 | 8.8 | 2.9 | 1.8 | .. | .. | .. | 0.11 |
The total number of houses invaded by Diphtheria was 265.
In 25 houses (i.e., 9.4 per cent.) the drainage was found defective,
and in 83 (i.e. 31.3 per cent.) insanitary conditions other than
drainage defects were discovered.
The source of infection in the majority of cases was merely
conjectural. In 37 instances there was evidence pointing to personal
contact, in 20 to schools. Five were post-scarlatinal cases
which developed in hospital while the patient was recovering from
scarlet fever. In three instances the patients were infected outside
the Borough, and in two cases there were reasons to suspect
that the house drains may have been the source of infection.
During 1908, 27 cases notified as suffering from Diphtheria
(or 7.9 per cent.) and removed to hospital, were found not to
be suffering from the disease and were returned to their homes.
Two thousand three hundred and nineteen bacteriological
examinations were made during 1908, as compared with 386 in
1907 and 235 in 1906. In 342 a positive and in 1977 a negative
result was obtained. The great increase in 1908 was due to the
two outbreaks of Diphtheria which occurred at institutions in the
Borough.